Affect traits in differential diagnosis of anxiety, depressive, and schizophrenic disorders using the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised.

A study of 185 psychiatric patients with anxiety, mood, and schizophrenic disorders and 185 matched nonpatient controls investigated the effectiveness of the affect trait scales of the revised Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL-R) in differentiating the three disorders. Univariate and multivariate analyses supported the usefulness of the affect in global and specific diagnostic classifications. The strongest discriminant function described a general dysphoria dimension (Depression plus Anxiety minus Positive Affect) which differentiated the anxiety and mood disorder groups from schizophrenic patients and nonpatient controls. A second discriminant function best differentiated the anxiety from mood disorder groups and was defined by relatively higher anxiety and normal sensation seeking scores among anxiety disorders and relatively higher depression and lower sensation seeking among mood disorders. Schizophrenic disorders could not be reliably distinguished from the other groups by negative affect scales, although they scored lower on positive affect than normals. It was concluded that the MAACL-R was valid in making both global and specific diagnostic classifications.